Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Getty
Tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rumors that Travis Kelce will entertain playing his 14th season with a franchise other than the Kansas City Chiefs have begun to circulate ahead of NFL free agency this week, but the superstar tight end actually addressed that topic in blunt fashion last summer.
Video of Kelce’s June 30, 2025 appearance on FanDuel’s “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast resurfaced on social media after a report from Dianna Russini and Jesse Newell of The Athletic on Sunday, March 8.
Russinni wrote on X that: “The Chiefs remain very much in the mix to re-sign the three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time All-Pro.”
However, in the story co-authored by Newell, Russini and her writing partner added a serious caveat.
“The twist: It isn’t a sure thing that the team he plays for would be the Kansas City Chiefs,” they wrote. “Kelce’s representatives are expected to talk to multiple teams.”
The SleeperChiefs X account reposted a short clip from a longer interview Kelce sat down for with the “Bussin With the Boys” podcast last summer, in which the tight end responds directly to a question about whether he could ever see himself in another uniform.
“At this point, nah,” Kelce responded.
SleeperChiefs
Travis Kelce isn’t leaving Kansas City.
Via (@BussinWTB)
“Travis Kelce isn’t leaving Kansas City,” SleepersChiefs captioned the video post Sunday.
Much Has Changed for Travis Kelce, Chiefs Since Start of Last Season
Kansas City Chiefs players Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
GettyKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (left) and tight end Travis Kelce (right).
Of course, much can change in eight and a half months, and much has for Kelce and the Chiefs organization.
For starters, the team had its first losing season of Kelce’s 13-year career and missed the playoffs for just the second time since he joined the league. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a serious injury and missed the final three contests of the season, and could also sit out games to begin the 2026 campaign.
Kelce’s contract in Kansas City expired and the team entered the offseason with the largest salary cap deficit in the NFL. The Chiefs have since cut offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor and traded superstar cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams for several draft picks, including a second first-rounder next April.
Off the field, Kelce got engaged to longtime girlfriend and world-famous musician Taylor Swift.
Most Around NFL Expected Travis Kelce Would Return to Chiefs or Retire
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs.
GettyKansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
All of this is to say that Kelce’s mind certainly may have changed since he made those comments about the unlikelihood that he would ever play for another franchise.
One thing that has remained the same is the impact Kelce’s presence on the field can still have after he earned Pro-Bowl honors for the 11th time in his future Hall of Fame career.
“Opposing defenses also continued to show Kelce plenty of respect,” Russini and Newell wrote. “That included a Week 17 game when the Denver Broncos double-teamed him on the game-deciding fourth-down pass.”
Russini and Newell noted that the assumption around the league for months has been that Kelce would either come back for his 14th year in Kansas City or hang up his cleats and move onto several lucrative off-field opportunities, potentially including work as an NFL analyst.